Deputy Minister Oren: Change the rules of engagement

Deputy Minister Michael Oren says soldiers should be instructed to shoot terrorists in order to kill them.

Hezki Baruch, 18/03/18 06:37

Michael Oren

Eliran Aharon

Deputy Minister Michael Oren (Kulanu) on Saturday called on the IDF to change its rules of engagement following Friday’s murderous attack in northern Samaria.

"There is no sure way to ensure that a terrorist is ‘neutralized.’ Therefore, soldiers who encounter terrorists in the middle of an act of terrorism must be instructed to open fire to kill and not to neutralize. A terrorist who carries out a terror attack constitutes a real threat and in order to protect the lives of our soldiers and the general public, the rules of engagement must be changed. The only way to ensure that a terrorist is indeed neutralized and poses no threat is by shooting in order to kill,” he said.

"In the Los Angeles Police Department,” Oren noted, “the rules of engagement require the policemen to shoot at a person who poses a threat in order to kill. I express my condolences to the bereaved families and wish a speedy recovery to the wounded soldiers."

MK Motti Yogev (Jewish Home), a member of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, called for the immediate demolition of the home of the terrorist who carried out the attack.

"The murder and injuring of the soldiers in northern Samaria requires acts of deterrence, as the security establishment is trying to carry out. Arrest the collaborators with the murderer, demolish his home and deport his family,” said Yogev.

“These actions are required to create both punishment and deterrence. If the judicial system does not allow such deterrent actions, it will bear responsibility for the next murder. The Prime Minister and the Minister of Defense must order the demolition of the murderer's house within 48 hours without waiting for the Supreme Court. The money transferred by the Palestinian Authority to the families of the murderers must be frozen without excuses,” he continued.

“IDF soldiers and Israeli citizens should know that there is a government in Israel that protects their lives, backs up their actions and punishes those who harm them," Yogev stated.

“There is no such thing as ‘lone wolf terrorism’. This is terror supported by Abu Mazen and the Palestinian Authority, which pays money to the families of the terrorists. We will stop them,” declared Liberman.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu commented on the terrorist attack on Saturday night, saying, "From the depths of my heart, I send condolences to the families of the IDF officer and soldier who were murdered yesterday by a reprehensible terrorist and my best wishes for a quick recovery to the wounded.”

“We will work to demolish the home of the terrorist and will deal with him to the fullest extent of the law," he added.